Blue Bar

If there ever were a place with the magic ability to kill my evening ambitions, it’s The Blue Bar at The Berkeley… I could run 5K OR I could have a couple cocktails at The Blue Bar! I could make this week’s lunch OR I could go to The BLUE BAR!!!
Yes, so…
There are tiny low-​slung seats throughout, but they are often hard to come by – especially on weekend nights – but if you, like me, like to hit up the best bars in London during the week, you’ll have an easier time. Of course, the people watching is always amazing. I mean, it is Knightsbridge after all!
Of course, given a choice, I always sit at the bar. It’s an amazing view of the artistry happening behind the bar. Also, the service is so much faster!
John, who was once the house bartender, is their amazing manager. It seems like he’s training the two current barmen, who are more than happy to make you a hipster cocktail between pouring glasses of Krug and Oban.
The way to a bartender’s heart: The Corpse Reviver No. 2. Thank me later.

Incredibly swank and so expensive but definitely a cool place to grab a drink and see and be seen. Have often run into professional athletes and actors here (if that’s your thing). But seriously, you’ll pay $ 40 (equivalent) for a drink.

My new favourite bar in town. No comparison.
They say you just have a better experience all round when a place is a little quieter, and that’s most definitely true here. We went here on Sunday night, sat straight down in the main bar area — and had a blast.
Table service and snacks are a nice to have, but you’d almost expect that in such a fancy hotel bar. The main attraction is the décor, the music and the cocktails. Oh god, the cocktails.
I started with a Dark Night (Appleton 12 yrs, frangelico, espresso, walnut, chocolate bitters and homemade liquorice syrup). Served in an old school martini glass, it was a slice of heaven.
My second was a Lemon Meringue (Laurent Perrier, citron vodka, lemon, lemon curd and Demerara caramel). Best cocktail I’ve ever had.
Pricey (cocktails were £16 and £18 a piece) — buy definitely the perfect place to impress or celebrate!

This is a beautiful bar in an extremely beautiful hotel. The entire bar is this amazing color blue that in normal life you only see in very small bits. It is one room with another room directly behind it. The bar is dark, romantic and open late. The service is lovely. We sat down in these white leather chairs, we were given nuts and dried apples to nosh on, and we ordered our drinks. Then we proceeded to enjoy two of the most expensive champagne based drinks I’ve had. But it was champagne, we were in the blue bar and everything was marvelous.

smoking martinis. Dont you just love the dry ice drinks. Totally naff but hte ladies love it. Pretentious and snooty but great drinks and cool décor

nothing is open in my neighborhood past 11 pm. we walked by the berkeley and asked if the bar was still open, and luckily, they open til 1.
the bar here is beautiful and plays some nice ambient lounge music. drinks are super expensive (14 GBP and up!) but really good. they also give you a platter of rice crackers, mixed spiced nuts, and another cracker, and they were soooooo good.
this is apparently a celeb hotspot, but we didn’t see anyone there on a monday night.

Before we went I looked at some of the reviews on line and they weren’t exactly positive to say the least. However our evening was hosted by a friend and I’d rather see things for myself. Some reviews didn’t do the Blue Bar justice as I found the staff very polite and friendly. Also the interior is very stylish and I myself did like the colour. But fair enough, it does feel a bit like faded glory and also like a venue trying to reinvent itself. A DJ who clearly didn’t feel the atmosphere and was entertaining himself and a small crowd of — looking 60/​acting 18 — ladies. The bagpipe player, who came and went with irregular intervals, was completely lost on me. Is that perhaps some sort of tradition? I can see how it may have been a hot spot for ‘A– listers’, but they have moved on and so did we after the clock struck midnight.

I went here once with my friend after reading in GQ magazine that it was the #1 bar in the world!
Well, it didn’t live up to that billing, but we were still pretty intimidated, which was funny because we ended up really overdressing. We wore ties, while nobody else in there did so, and we were asked if we were in the CIA or something. A little embarassing, but still pretty funny. Overall, everyone was very friendly. It was pretty easy to mingle with other people at the bar, and the staff were a lot of fun, too.
After being a bit out of my depth and ordering some scotch, I was happy to see that they serve Heinekens from the bottle.
It is actually a very small room. And besides all the glitzy press it receives, I couldn’t distinguish what would make this bar so special compared even to the one directly across the hallway from it.

The stand-​out feature of the Blue Bar is its striking Lutyens Blue colour scheme by designer David Collins. I recommend this place very elegant and full of charm

Designer David Collins created this 50-​seat bar in his inimitable style. Its most outstanding feature is the striking colour of the room, which he has termed ‘Lutyens Blue’. The white onyx bar and a black crocodile print leather floor add to the sumptuous, individual feel.
Choose from over 50 different whiskies, a wide range of champagnes, original and classic cocktails and a selected range of wine by the glass. A specially created Grape and Smoke menu is designed to pair cigars with carefully chosen wines to enhance the connoisseur’s enjoyment. The Blue Bar is open throughout the evening and guests can order savoury and sweet tapas-​style dishes.

The Blue Bar’s charm has faded a little over the last few years and combined with the departure of the A-​List crowd, it has dropped of the ‘must visit’ list of bars for London. This is unfair however, as the bar made famous by its low-​fi tunes (and CD release in the name of the bar) is still a fabulous watering hole for a few drinks. The cocktails are varied and expertly mixed and the atmosphere, whilst upmarket, is never intimidating. The bar layout creates intimacy combined with vibrancy. Well worth a visit!